Coffee and Travel

Cougar Fest

2008-06-17T11:53:00.008-05:00

From Urbandictionary.com -
Cougar - A 35+ year old female who is on the "hunt" for a much younger, energetic, willing-to-do-anything male. The cougar can frequently be seen in a padded bra, cleavage exposed, propped up against a swanky bar in San Francisco (or other cities)waiting, watching, calculating; gearing up to sink her claws into an innocent young and strapping buck who happens to cross her path. "Man is cougar's number one prey"

My buddy J.H. didn't know this term prior to our Texas visit. We had to do our best to point them out to him so as he didn't come near the dangerous creature.

Here he is looking as sexy as ever.

Saturday night we attended the Cattlebarron's Ball. As posted previously my buddy J.E. is kind of a big deal at his place of employment and his company gave some serious cash to sponsor this cancer benefit so we had some primo seats and a good time.

One thing I learned, a dress and cowboy boots is a highly underrated look. Unfortunately I have no good pictures of this so you will just have to trust me.

So the ball went like this, show ticket and ID at driveway entrance to ranch, enter ranch through long driveway have car valeted. Register, proceed through photo booth, enter barn with musical entertainment, silent auction and most importantly open bar. Luckily I'm old now because in my 20's open bar was a recipe for disaster. I'm happy to report that I behaved myself (well relative to an open bar situation anyway).

Around 7:00 there was dinner. The smell of the bar-b-que was amazing, like burning hickory.
Around 10:00 the entertainment started. A show my Ronnie Milsap, the blind country singer with 40 number one hits. I didn't think I knew any of his songs until the show started. It was a pleasant surprise and since every seat was good it was probably the best seats I'll ever have at any concert.
Following the concert....the dancing. What do you get when you combine a once a year event, a babysitter for the kids, 5 hours of open bar, and dancing?

Be careful

It's All Bigger In

2008-06-12T16:33:00.007-05:00

If you read the previous post, you know I was here last weekend.

Waco to be exact. I know, anyone between the ages of 20 and 90 probably only knows Waco as the home of the Branch Davidions, but my buddy that lives there promised me it had more to offer than that and I must agree that it did.

Baylor University is there.

Here's the three amigos. Normally there's four. Here's the fourth (with J.E.), he had some lame excuse to not travel, some medical conference or something so that he can save your life.
The guy on the right in orange is J.H., he lives near Minneapolis but after some serious soul searching when he became a traitor I decided to remain his friend. The other guy on the far left is the buddy we went to visit. He's J.E. but you might know him by this...
It was really nice there. People were extraordinarily friendly. My friend works in the media so I suspect that many of his associates are naturally outgoing anyway but everyone was really nice. There's a big lake right on the outskirts of Waco. Next time I go I want to rent a pontoon there or take a boat ride.
This was taken between Waco and Dallas.

On Saturday we spent the entire day by the pool at a country club. It's really too bad I didn't get any pictures there, the ah, scenery was quite good. It was really hot, somehow I actually remembered to be careful of the sun and avoid a sun burn. I'm like the red incredible hulk when I get sunburned. You wouldn't like me when I'm sunburned. Here's Scot Hulk.

That's a couple of years ago in Mexico. I was too skinny then. We did south beach diet for a couple of months, closest we ever came to a divorce.

At any rate, Friday night we went out to a bar. When I was 20 years old, another friend of mine and I traveled to NYC. We got lost on the subway and accidentally ended up in Harlem (this was before Harlem was rejuvinated). When caught in that subway stop we kept our heads down and didn't accidentally look at anyone. My experience in that Texas bar was only slightly different. Jeans, button up western shirt and cowboy hat was the accepted dress code. We left there and went to a George's another place. My choice of clothing fit in better there.

Coming next, Saturday night....

Cougar Fest '08

Continental Airlines SUCKS BALLS

2008-06-10T18:44:00.007-05:00

Sorry mom if you read that but my loathing right now for Continental can only be summed up as such.

This previous weekend I traveled to Waco, Texas (more on that in the next post). Normally I would talk about the trip sequentially but so great was the suckiness of Continental on the return trip that I have to begin there.

I was scheduled to fly on Flight 2406 from Dallas to Houston for a connection on to my Milwaukee When I arrived at my gate the flight was scheduled to depart as normal.

· At 3:30 the flight was delayed until 4:53.

· At 4:30 the flight was delayed without a time or any further explanation.

· At this time I contacted the Continental 1-800 # and spoke to a representative who informed me that my flight, 2406, was delayed due to weather. While I was on the phone with her another flight arrived from Houston I told her this and informed her that weather must not be the issue. By the way the 800 number for Continental is in Houston couldn't she just look out her f'ing window. She then put me on hold to talk to her boss. When she returned she told me that my flight is now delayed until approx. 6:50 p.m. I advised her that I would miss my connection. She offered to book me on a flight from Dallas to Houston on Monday June 9 instead. I declined

· Without explanation from either gate agent both of which were either unwilling, unable or too incompetent to make any announcement to those of us waiting for flight 2406 passengers from flight 2637 also waiting at our gate for a flight that was supposed to leave an hour later than my flight are loaded and depart for Houston at 5:00.

· At about 5:10 gate personnel finally made an announcement regarding the expected arrival of our plane from Houston. The gate agent declares that it has been delayed due to mechanical difficulties. These gate agents are unable or unwilling to help anyone with connections. Not only that, they never even asked anyone on the previous flight if their final destination was Houston. I.e. why not put people with connections on a flight that is actually on time and delay those not going anywhere else. NO WONDER CONTINENTAL IS WORRIED ABOUT BANKRUPTCY. THE SOONER THE BETTER.

· At approximately 7:00 flight 2406 (my flight) departs.

· At approximately 7:45 our fight arrives in Houston. I went immediately to customer service. I was informed that I had been re-booked for Monday June 9 on flight 3083 due to the fact that I missed my connection due to mechanical failure. I inquire about the possibility of being re-routed on flight 2146 to Chicago. The agent responded that she could put me on standby. While I pride myself on instantaneous judgement calls this would not prove to be one of them.

· I immediately went to the Chicago gate and check in with the gate agent to confirm my standby status and I inquired with her about ground transportation from Chicago to Milwaukee. She told me that I customer service in Chicago would help me with that. She also told me that I needed to wait at the gate because of my standby status.

· At 9:00 I was allowed on flight 2146 bound for Chicago and we departed.

· At 11:30 the captain informed us we needed to land in Indianapolis to refuel and wait out bad weather in Chicago. We land in Indy at midnight and are held on our plane. Some woman next to my starts crying.

· At 2:00 a.m. we leave Indianapolis.

· At 2:35 a.m. we arrived in Chicago. I immediately went to the gate agent and inquired about ground transportation to Milwaukee. He said that customer service in the baggage claim area would help me.

· I went directly to customer service in the baggage area. Get ready for the moral of this story, the woman working informed me that all ground transportation for the night had ceased. Apparently even though Chicago is like one of the busiest airports in the world and even though the cab line was an hour long there is no other public transportation after 11:00. She says she can't help me. I ask where the rental car counters are and get this, FRACKING (new word of the weekend) O'Hare doesn't have rental car counters. It only has a bank of phones which happen to be right next to the world's loudest elevator.

· At 3:00 a.m. I began calling rental car and transportation services. When talking to one agent she says "when do you want to pick the car up sir" I said "15 minutes" she said "I need to know what time you want to pick the car up" I said "I'm sorry it's really loud in here, I'd like it in 15 minutes" She said, (thoroughly annoyed) "I need to know what time that would be sir" "Well add 15 minutes to your fucking watch and that's what time." (well that's what I was thinking anyway), I said "3:15." "Okay we can give you a compact car for ... wait.... wait... $200" I hung up.

At this point I begin calling other rental companies, same story. Okay, isn't the free market society based on supply and demand. Are there really that many people that need rental cars between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. I mean, I pay for gas, it's my insurance, etc. I just rented a car for all of next weekend, 48 hours for $80. This is for you rental car companies.

I begin calling car services. Bingo, I find a car service that will drive me to my house for only $195. At this point I feel like this guy. I give in.

· At 3:45 I was picked up by an Eastern European guy like this.

When we arrived at my house at 5:00 and he told me that the there was a mandatory 20% tip that I was responsible for adding I wasn't going to argue.

Total cost of my original flight to Waco $348.
Total cost of ride from Chicago to Milwaukee $234.

Stay classy Continental.

The word is....

2008-05-30T21:20:00.005-05:00

I live in Milwaukee, the Brewers are home tonight but I had a charity obligation, I'm 36 years old, and my wife is 6 months pregnant. So when she's flipping through the channels and stops at the national spelling bee being held in HD on ABC on a Friday night I bite my tongue.

It's only about 2 minutes before the unintentional comedy has me laughing and offering my fake commentary.

Seriously, for anyone that reads Bill Simmons at ESPN's page 2 this event is just screaming for a play-by-play like he does with the NBA draft.

Some noteworthy questions from my 20 minutes of viewing...

The 13 year old competing for the 5th time? Was she really in this thing for 5 years or is there like A, AA, AAA and then the show?

How is this in HD and I can't even get the Wisconsin Badger games on want on any channel?

Why was there a camera man wearing Under Armor gear? Why were there multiple camera men?

What was Erin Andrews reaction when her bosses told her she would be working the sideline here?

How can a 12 year old boy spell any words when he's looking at Erin Andrews?

Do you really need to name your home school? Wouldn't it just be your address?

If you are 12 and need to shave isn't that a disqualification?

Final thoughts, to really spice up the show there needs to be more trash talk. No more of this clapping for your opponent. I want some smack, maybe some chest bumping. How about the winner giving an impromptu moon following the victory word?

The word is hairbrained. "Can I have the definition? Can I have the origin? Are there any other pronunciations? Can I have the origin again? Can you spell the word? No, okay.... I-A-M-S-C-R-E-W-E-D."

Cliff Reuschlein

2008-05-11T20:32:00.006-05:00

So my Grandpa died today. I wasn't there. I said goodbye to him and told him I loved him a week ago. It's sad though. Mostly I've been thinking about how much more time I should have spent with him. He taught me to ski when I was three or four. He held me up on my tiny skis between his legs going up the tow rope. My parents would take us to Cascade "Mountain" where my grandparents would meet us. My grandmother would stay in the chalet while my grandpa skied with us. In fourth grade we all went to Michigan's upper peninsula skiing. That is probably the last time I skied with him.

My grandpa liked sports cars. I can remember sitting in the hatch back of his Nissan 280Z. He was driving us to either IHOP or York Steak House. I remember watching Wisconsin hockey games at their house. I didn't really like hockey but for some reason that is still a really fond memory.

When I was about 10 or 12 grandmother and grandpa retired and moved to El Paso, TX. I visited them there once when I was about 13 and once when I was 33. Thankfully they came back to visit often.

Until today all 4 of my grandparents were still alive. I am very lucky. For some years now I've thought a lot about how I value(d) each of them.

You see when I was little this grandpa and grandmother (Cliff and Beth) lived in Madison. I think we visited relatively frequently but from what I remember those visits seemed a little formal. Not very little kid driven, more adult oriented. I remember Christmas presents being things like sweaters.

My other grandparents (Gene & Lee) lived on the east coast. Visits were more exotic to me. I had close cousins out there, those grandparents lived in a neighborhood with kids and presents were things like walkie talkies and race tracks.

Based on these interactions as a little kid I developed what would be my opinion of each set of grandparents that held up through at least my mid 20's. It's with deep regret that I didn't realize some of my skewed perceptions sooner. I hope I made up for it these past few years. I hope my grandpa knew I was trying to make up for it.

Some things I need to thank my grandpa for:

He's not bald, thus I still have hair.
His business sense.
Teaching me to ski.
Gifts far greater than anything I earned.
Having a master plan for his future offspring.
Pride in the University of Wisconsin.
Loving me unconditionally.

Some things to know about my grandpa:

He was a world war II vet and had good stories about it.
He was the president of H&H Industries.
He was a UW grad.
He grew up on a farm in Plain, WI.
He met my grandmother while working in a munitions plant.
He has 6 children.
He knew I was going to have a baby and he was excited.

I love you grandpa! Thanks for all you've done for me and continue to do. God bless you.

Official Obituary

Reuschlein, Clifford Joseph, MADISON

Clifford Joseph Reuschlein, a local engineer and businessman who played a part in the Manhattan Project and lobbied tirelessly in his later years for people with mental illness, died Sunday, May 11, 2008, at his home in Madison. He was 89. Mr. Reuschlein graduated in 1942 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was an engineer for DuPont during World War II when he was assigned to the Manhattan Project at the Hanford Engineer Works in Richland, Wash., the site of one of three federal locales developing a secret defense project. Aware only that his work was a part of the war effort, Mr. Reuschlein contributed to the development of the atomic bomb. He was a Navy veteran, serving aboard the U.S.S. Kenmore in the South Pacific in World War II. In 1946 he resumed his engineering career, joining Hyland Hall and Co. (H and H Industries/H and H Electric) in Madison, where he became president and retired as chairman of the board 37 years later. He was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower to the Apprentice Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Labor, where he served in his capacity as an engineer and businessman. He was a member of Pi Tau Sigma International Mechanical Engineering Honor Society; the National Society of Professional Engineers; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning Engineers Society; the Construction Specifications Institute; and the Society of American Military Engineers. He was a fellow, board member and president of the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association. He was a founder and board member of Maplewood Nursing Home in Sauk City, Wis. He was an avid boater, water skier and downhill skier and enjoyed carpentry as a hobby. Mr. Reuschlein devoted his retirement in El Paso, Texas, to advocating for the mentally ill and their families. An activist for better treatment, government accountability, and caregiver support, he spent his days counseling families in crisis, working with local and state mental health professionals, influencing legislators and judges, and producing a newsletter to draw attention to mental health issues. He helped establish a local chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), serving as its director for 12 years. He was a member of the NAMI Homeless and Missing Network steering committee and a board member and past vice-president of Texas AMI. He was named 1991 Citizen of the Year by the El Paso Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and 1992 Outstanding Volunteer of the Year by El Paso United Way. The El Paso Mayor's Advisory Board on Aging inducted him into the Older El Pasoans Hall of Fame, and he was honored by the El Paso Life Management Center for outstanding service to individuals with mental disabilities. During his Madison years he was a member of Blessed Sacrament Church, Knights of Columbus, Elks Club, Kiwanis, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. In El Paso he was a member of NAMI and EpAMI. Mr. Reuschlein was born Feb. 5, 1919, in Plain, Wis., the son of Henry and Christina Paulus Reuschlein. A serendipitous childhood encounter with Frank Lloyd Wright proved prophetic when Wright admired the button collection he'd sewn to his cap. Wright told him, "One day, you'll make something of yourself," and Mr. Reuschlein grew up to design the mechanicals for at least two of Wright's buildings: the Unitarian church in Madison and the Spring Green Center in Spring Green, Wis. He married Elizabeth Ginevra Starr of Huntington, W. Va., on Feb. 25, 1944, in Kennewick, Wash. He is predeceased by his parents and his siblings, Florence Schrock, Dorothy Kayser, and Earl Reuschlein. He is survived by his wife; four daughters, Cathy (Bill) Taylor of Columbus, Ohio, Carole (Mike) Ecker of Black Earth, Connie Reuschlein (Dan Gaytan) of El Paso, Texas and Nancy Reuschlein of Madison; and two sons, C. Randy (Mary) Reuschlein of Stoughton and Tom Reuschlein of Colorado Springs, Colo. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at BLESSED SACRAMENT CATHOLIC CHURCH, 2131 Rowley Ave., on Friday, May 16, 2008, at 10:30 a.m. with Father Ron Kreul, O.P. officiating. Burial will immediately follow at Forest Hill Cemetery. A visitation will be held at JOYCE-RYAN FUNERAL HOME, 5701 Odana Road, on Thursday, May 15, 2008, from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. and then again at church on Friday from 9:30 a.m. until the time of Mass. The family requests memorials be made to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, P. O. Box 759155, Baltimore, MD, 21275-9155 or www.nami.org.
Joyce-Ryan Funeral Home and Cremation Services 5701 Odana Road (608) 274-1000 www.ryanfuneralsevice.com

Resolution

2008-01-13T13:58:00.000-06:00

Hi, I don't generally make resolutions but I am going to try and post more often. I let myself get too caught up in some personal professional stuff more than I should have. Something I really had no control over and ultimately didn't turn out the way that I wanted it to. I think?

At any rate, maybe I'll post about it here someday. But more likely not. I'd probably just come across as a whiner. At any rate my buddy says that 2008 better be ready for prime time Eck... if only he knew the half of it.

Okay, enough of that. Here is the first installment of our trip to Mexico over Christmas.

This is called a posada. It's like a procession through the town sort of reenacting the walk Joseph and Mary took looking for an inn for the birth of Jesus. There is a processional leader and lots of kids singing songs at various stops.

The houses in this town are all very near the narrow streets. Most of them have a gate that separates the house from the sidewalk. Many of the houses had elaborately decorated manger scenes lit inside of their gate.

This is one of the stops along the posada.

A typical house in this town. This is probably an upper middle class Mexican family.
The posada ends at the local church. This was the nativity scene at church. The baby Jesus is not added until Christmas Eve at midnight.
This is the scene in downtown Guadalajara. Guad is the 2nd most populous city in Mexico.
Live poinsettas in Guad.
The main square in Guadalajara. If you've traveled to Latin America you already know every city and town has a main square. The one in Guadalajara is huge.

It was always funny seeing all these Santas outside.
Nativity in the square at Guad.

I'm not sure if she got what she wanted or not.

My wife, me and her brother in Guadalajara.

More to come.

Long Lost

2007-12-31T23:09:00.000-06:00

Guess who's back, back again.

The last couple of months I have found myself preoccupied with some stuff, hence no posting.

But, tonight I just watched the movie Once. If you make one new year's resolution, do something for yourself and watch this movie. Do it, it's just 86 minutes long. You can afford that. It will be 86 of the most quality minutes you spend this year.

I'll be picking up the CD and DVD tomorrow.

And yes, I am posting this at 11:19 p.m. on New Year's Eve. That's how much I liked this movie.

Happy New Year.

A peak at what's coming later this week.

Don't Stop Believen'

2007-10-31T19:29:00.000-05:00

Captain Jack Sparrow was at the wedding on Saturday night, practicing for the world air guitar championships.

Shake and Bake

2007-10-29T17:34:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been to a costume wedding before. Me either. It was a riot. These pictures should say more than 1000 words.

The royal newlyweds.

Groomsmen

Bridesmaids

Guests
Father of the Groom
No dalmations were actually injured.

Siegfried, Roy and the Lions were in the house.

Ricky Bobby was the DJ

Is Yoda a Skywalker?

Britney & her baby made an appearance

Coming soon... Captain Jack Sparrow prepares for world air guitar championship.

Random Stuff

2007-10-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

First, I want to add RSS capabilities to this blog for you millions of readers. If anyone knows how to do this, please ping me, or leave a comment.

Second a big shout out to 213 South Charter for reading and commenting and staying such good friends. Especially to one former nameless resident who just got engaged to a great woman. Even though she can kick my butt in guitar hero. Jeff Las Vegas, email me and I can fill you in.

Third, just checked my analytics. We've got our first visitors from Thailand (must be an accident) and Slovenia. Maybe in my next post, I'll post about my 2 trips to Slovenia. Shout out to all the Slovenes, nos dravia. Also visits from Montana, Illinois (who?), Nebraska (who?), California (my man, another recently engaged, congrats), Colorado (now I'll cheer for the Rockies), Florida (who?), New York (who?) and Tennessee, T, T, Tennessee (multiple visits).

Fourth, things going on this week have led me to revisit some music I haven't listened to in some time. Holy cow I forgot about some good bands. Currently rotating on play list, VNV Nation (Standing & Holding On), Wumpscut (Thorns), Cold War Kids (We Used to Vacation), also in heavy rotation a mash up I found of Eminem and AFI. Really, really good. You can probably find all of these except maybe the AFI at You Tube, which is quickly becoming my jukebox.

Okay, this weekend, off to Madison for a Halloween Party on Friday, then a wedding on Saturday, combined with a visit to the parents and grandparents.

I'll leave you with some more pics from last Saturday.

This last one is a dad and son skateboarding. I really liked that.

Indian Summer

2007-10-21T21:31:00.001-05:00

Thinly sliced ham, egg fried over hard with a little yolk oozing out onto my side of buttery hashbrowns, and cheese sandwiched between two fluffy hommade waffles. This my friends is The Hollander (like The Ohio State) a breakfast sandwich served at Cafe Hollander on Downer Avenue on the North East side of Milwaukee. I almost ordered the Mrs. Hollander, which is identical with the exception that it is sandwiched between a croissant instead of waffles, but I figured, "hey, go big or go home" besides, can I really order something that begins with Mrs.

The weather all fall has been unseasonably warm yet is supposed to return to normal next week. Ann and I decided to take advantage of the last few gorgeous days to bum around Milwaukee yesterday and the first stop was the aformentioned Cafe Hollander.

I took pics on this visit. It was pretty empty when we got there, filling up by the time we left.

A church next door was having a bake sale and selling pumpkins. Ann loves pumpkins.

Next, we walked a short ways to an overlook of Lake Michigan.
View of Alterra (a local coffee shop) By the Lake. This building actually used to be a sort of sewer building and was then in disrepair for many years until Alterra bought and remodeled it. My favorite coffee is still Stone Creek, but this is a pretty awesome location.

We continued downtown. This is the Milwaukee Art Museum. Likely the most famous landmark in Milwaukee.

This one is taken inside the art museum looking out onto Lake Michigan.

Oh Canada

2007-10-16T18:37:00.000-05:00

Things I liked…..

Dinner at the top of the CN Tower- The view across lake Ontario and over Toronto is like nothing I’ve ever seen.

Distillery District – With a name like this you have to like it right!!! Reminded me of the 3rd ward in Milwaukee. Also has an outstanding Sunday brunch at Hot House. Everything from custom omelets to beef and mushroom pastry to lasagna and prime rib.

The People – Canadians were very friendly. The city is a little more layed back than say Chicago. However, it is definitely busier on weekdays than weekends.

Not So Great....

The U.S. Dollar – remember when the dollar was worth like 1.40 Canadian. Not anymore, it’s worth 1-1 most places and at the airport they screw you even more. This definitely makes things more expensive.

Kensington Market – I had read that this was a cool market and I suppose it is if you are trying to score some heroin or any other narcotic. Ethan Hawke circa Reality Bites would feel out of place here. The best way I can describe it is Madison’s State Street mixed with a Latin American street market. Throw in the neighborhood that the police created in the 3rd season of The Wire (you know the one where they funneled all the drug trade to) and a splash of Lord of the Fly’s type survival. I felt like I needed a shower after walking 2 blocks.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Part 2

2007-10-05T19:20:00.000-05:00

So a few things. First, I just got a new Imac. Big step for me as I've always been a PC guy. But you know, those commercials just got to me. Who wants to be the geek PC?

Next, I found this video I took at the Nicaraguan baseball game. It is Granada vs. Leon. Click on some posts below for more information.

Yes, the sound system really is those speakers you say and that is the music they are pumping out. The video then scans to the vending station where they were selling tamales or something.

Enjoy.

Jump Around

2007-09-29T11:30:00.001-05:00

On Wisconsin

2007-09-29T11:22:00.000-05:00

So those that know me, know I graduated from The University of Wisconsin (I've got to add the The, like The Ohio State).

Ann and I go to a few games each year. We always have friends tailgating so sometimes even when we don't have tickets we'll roll into town. If you haven't been to a game there you just don't understand how electric the whole town is on a game day.

Last week we got lucky enough to get tickets to the nationally televised night game against Iowa. I took some bad pics with my phone. Not really worth of posting.

The day looked like this, arrive at tailgate 3:00, go to game at 7:00, come back to tailgate at 10:30, eat some food and go to friends house. Does it get any better than that. Oh yeah, the weather was also unseasonable warm, between 75-80 at game time. Perfect day.

If you've never been to a Badger football game, one of the great new traditions is the playing of House of Pain's song Jump Around between the 3rd and 4th quarter. This started in the late 90's and has continued. I found a you tube clip it's in the post just above this one.

Sunday Morning Pastime

2007-09-20T20:22:00.000-05:00

One of my wife and my favorite pastimes is Sunday morning breakfast. Since we've lived here we are able to try a different breakfast spot any Sunday we want (there weren't this many choices at our former home). Of course one of the top priorities at breakfast is good coffee.

A couple of weeks ago we found my new favorite place. Cafe Hollander, located on the upper east side of Milwaukee, very near UWM. This is the place that has reminded most of European Cafes. The location, outdoor seating, eclectic staff and patrons all add up to a great easy going, Sunday breakfast.

Their website, http://www.cafehollander.com/

Pics.

Here's some pics from Europe Cafe's summer 2006

Work is a Zoo

2007-09-11T20:36:00.000-05:00

That's my excuse for not posting recently. If you don't know I work in K-12 public education in a semi-urban environment. The last two weeks has been absolutely crazy.

So some recent random things.

Tonight the movie "In The Company of Men" is on the HD Movie channel. Which reminded me of when I watched that movie probably about 8 years ago. Great movie in a sick, twisted, kick me in the head kind of way. Which got me thinking of other movies I would describe in the same way (if you have any to add, please comment)

My list (in no particular order except #1 is #1 and will always be #1 don't even try and convince me otherwise)

1. Requiem for a Dream (when I was contemplating renting this movie back in 2000 my friend said to me "dude it's like a kick in the head)

2. Kids (Casper is the dopest ghost)

3. Trainspotting (although the Born Slippy by Underworld is a great song)

4. Basketball Diaries

5. Seven

On to other movie news/reviews I saw a couple recently I can (sort) of recommend. First, if you liked Roadhouse, the early 90's Patrick Swayze movie. This was a staple on video tape (remember that) (do you like all my parans this post?), my freshman year of college, check out Shooter, starring ........ Marky Mark. He might in fact be the next Patrick Swayze. Shooter was entertaining and cheesy in exactly the same way. So what do you think was better Roadhouse or Point Break... which leads me to

Hot Fuzz, which has the all time great Point Break references ever. Hot Fuzz is worth the entire 2 hours simply for the last 20 minutes. I'll put the shootout in Hot Fuzz right up there with Heat and Hard Boiled.

Finally, if you want an inspiring documentrary check out Born Into Brothels. A story of kids in India that are children of prostitutes. It's not exactly up lifting but is truly a great documentary.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2007-08-31T19:15:00.000-05:00

We knew baseball is the main sport in Nicaragua, however, our Lonely Planet book had indicated that the season would be complete when we were visiting. Lucky for us, it was wrong. We were in Granada bumming around on a Saturday afternoon when we found out there would be a baseball game that afternoon between Granada and Leon (archrivals in baseball as well as politics, attitude, etc, think Red Sox vs. Yankees, that type of rivalry). We couldn't pass up this opportunity.

We took our $1.00 cab ride to the ball park

Immediately people were wanting to sell us tickets. Kids were also in the stadium yelling down at us to come into the game. The excitement of the game on their face was contagious. We later found out that kids are let in free to games (they are supposed to be with an adult, but that rule is not enforced). We ignored those trying to sell us tickets and Ann worked her magic at the ticket booth, asking the lady what kind of seats were available. We had our choice betwee 30 Cordoba seats (roughly $1.50) and general admission, or the more expensive 50 Cordoba seats (approx. $2.50). Given those choices we went for the expensive seats. When we got into the stadium we were ushered into basically the best seats in the stadium. They were fenced off with an usher so that "common folk" could not take these seats. This area was probably 25% full and I imagine the locals sitting here were at least middle to upper class.

One of my favorite sights was the couple that rolled into seats near us with a cooler of ice, coke and a bottle of rum and just started mixing their drinks.

We enjoyed a couple of beers (they were expensive at the stadium, $1 as opposed to the normal $0.70). The concession stand was similar to what you might find at a high school football game. A few tables set up as counters with big tubs filled with ice and beer in them. Perfect.

Concessions

This was the kickin' sound system.

The game was enjoyable and the talent appeared to be pretty good. The star pitcher for Granada had reached AAA amateur ball in the majors.

Even Brett Favre was there.

In the 7th inning the bank of lights behind home plate went out. This caused quite a delay. But as things tended to work in Nicaragua misfortune quickly turned into good luck. Listening to a couple of local guys in front of us I knew that they spoke very good English so I thought I would strike up a conversation. The guys (like every Nica we met) were just great guys, very friendly. Both had basically been refugees in the U.S. during the war in the 80's when they were kids. They were educated attending college in the U.S. and then returned home in the 90's.

One of these men was a banker and the other Juan Carlos had a few business interests. He along with his brothers owns a night club in San Juan del Sur as well as a Subway restaurant there. They also own a coffee plantation, this revelation led to us talking for nearly 30 minutes.

These guys were so nice they bought us a beer and we got their email addresses.

Shortly thereafter the bank of lights was fixed and Granada won the game.

I can't remember if I mentioned earlier but Nicaragua has mandatory rolling blackouts, they typically last 4 hours or so. Due to the baseball game the blackout was delayed until the game was complete. But as soon as the game was over lights went off all throughout town.

Who is Out There?

2007-08-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

A friend begins all of his blog entries with song lyrics. I can't steal his trademark, but if I could I would have titled this "hello, is there anybody out there."

Shortly after beginning this I discovered that there is a downfall to blogging as opposed to emailing friends. You aren't sure if anyone is ever reading the stuff. Not that I care really, except that when I talk to my friends and they say "how was your trip" or "do you have any pictures" I have to answer with "well they are on the blog."

Then there are my family members who apparantely thought that I only posted one blog. My sister said to me the other day, "oh there's more than one post." Um, yes, that is sort of the point.

So, now I have discovered google analytics it can track how many hits the page is getting and where from. I like this, it gives me a flavor of whether anyone is paying attention. But now I'm left with this question... WHO LIVES IN TONY WISCONSIN? Show yourself, leave me a comment or if you want to email me direct, that is fine too. I have friends in Eau Claire, but I didn't think Tony. Maybe I am wrong.

Regarding comments, if anyone has tried to comment and been frustrated that first you had to sign in to Google, I have removed that as a requirement. You can now comment directly without any sign in.

Upcoming blog teaser. We attended a pro baseball game in Granada, story and pics to follow in the coming days.

Chance Encounters, Amazing People

2007-08-25T19:01:00.000-05:00

It's 7:00 on Saturday as I sit down to update. I've got my favorite coffee in Milwaukee ready to give me a jump start on this Saturday evening. If you live in the area make sure you check out Stone Creek Coffee. The coffee is great, the atmosphere of the shops is even better and the friendliness and attitude of the workers is top notch. Sip, ahhhh.

Back to Nicaragua...

While on Ometepe 2 significant events occurred that changed the course of our trip from a solo tourist expedition to a trip of deeper cultural understanding and meaning.

First, while visiting laguna de ojo I met and began chatting to two Americans who also happened to be there. They had offered to take a picture of Ann and I together. It turns out Sara and Melissa were from Chicago. They had traveled up from Panama to return to Granada, where they had both lived and worked for a period of time. Over the next few days we would quickly become friends and in turn meet some of their friends native to Nicaragua.

The second event is thanks to my wife’s Spanish abilities. We had arranged for transportation from our hotel on Ometepe to take us back to the ferry stop about 45 minutes away. Two middle age couples joined us on that trip. My wife struck up a conversation with one of the women, she was probably about 50. That woman asked how we were going to get from the ferry back to Granada. My wife explained that we would take the same route that we had on the way down. We would catch a van from the ferry stop to the city of Rivas, from there we would catch the collectivo bus (yellow school bus, think Romancing the Stone) from Rivas to the Granada bus station (not really a station more like a dirt pen inside of some fences) and then finally a taxi from the station to our hotel. While this trip had seemed like an adventure on the way to Ometepe, the novelty of that adventure had worn off for the trip back. Immediately this woman whom we had just met offered to drive Ann and I (with our luggage) back to Granada. This was an incredibly generous offer. We ended up spending the better part of the morning with this foursome. The two women, native Nicaraguans were best friends in college and each had significant roles in the war in the 80’s. One of them remains living in Managua with her husband a French expat. During the war she was a key liaison between media correspondents and troops. The other woman, now lives with her husband, a native Mexican, in Los Angeles. There she is a tenured professor at Loyola Marymount University. Her department is the masters degree program in educational administration with a specialty in educational anthropology. She and Ann really got to talking. During the war, this woman fought for the cause of human rights for both sides. Both of these women had some incredible experiences during the war only a few of which they were willing to share openly. We did learn that they had both seen heavy fighting, had both risked their lives and also had seen mass graves. I told them they should really write a book together or even go on a speaking circuit. They were amazingly interesting.

Their husbands were equally as friendly. Talking about Nicaragua, Mexico, France and the United States. These people were incredibly caring and friendly to offer us a ride. Little did we know that the benefit to us would be less in the ride and more so in the chance just to meet and converse with such amazing people.

A village

Concepcion Volcano on Ometepe Island

The next 3 pictures are in and around Masaya Volcano near dusk. This volcano you look down into, as opposed to having a cone you look up at. The local legend has it that you are looking down into Hell.

NY Times Nicaragua Article

2007-08-24T20:12:00.000-05:00

I found this article yesterday about Nicaragua. This writer sums things up a lot better than I can.

Check it out you don't have to sign up or anything.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/travel/17Nicaragua.html?ref=travel&pagewanted=print

It's funny how you find things after you don't really need them anymore.

2007-08-21T19:06:00.000-05:00

My new book arrived from Amazon yesterday. The Country Under My Skin, A Memoir of Love and War. It’s written by a Nicaraguan woman about the Somoza/Sandanista war in Nicaragua in the 1970’s.

Nicaragua has indeed crawled under my skin. The day we left there was already something tugging at me to come back. I often have this feeling when I return from a vacation. Usually after a few days I settle back into my routine and remind myself that I probably loved the vacation destination because it was just that, a vacation. Nicaragua is/was different.

The pace of life is what I miss. Things are crazy and hectic. Street signs are rarely obeyed. Cars, bikes, buses and horses are all jockeying for position on the road. Music is blaring loudly from shops and advertising vans. Vendors at markets are trying to sell their wares. Security guards with machine guns protect banks. It’s discovering the layer beneath this one that is so enchanting. Somewhere underneath yet within all this chaos lies a different world.

I’ve heard professional athletes comment on what it’s like to be “in the zone.” They say that everything slows down that the ball or bat or rim or defender becomes crystal clear amid the chaos of the game. That’s what Nicaragua is like.

Beneath that chaotic top layer I began to notice things:
*People working 12-16 hour days happier than most people I know.
*People, in poverty by our standards, smiling and waving as they daily sweep bugs and standing water from the dirt floor of their house.
*People in the service industry (waiters, cooks, hotel receptionists, bartenders), truly wanting to help customers and feeling good about it.
*People driving pickup trucks stopping along the road to pick up travelers, who then gladly accepted the ride and stood in the back.
*People you’ve just met telling you, “you are my friend, next time you come you can stay at my house,”

We left these things and landed at Atlanta airport to switch planes. Here is some re-verse culture shock I/we dealt with in Atlanta.
*A skycap attempting to push an elderly woman in a wheel chair not really caring where she was going while he talked on his cell phone.
*Cashiers at Atlanta Bread Company yelling orders to customers.
*Co-workers at Atlanta Bread Company unwilling to help each other.
*Constant media barrage from TV’s.

*And, our misfortune at sitting down across from a racist redneck. His true colors were not apparent until he spoke. He was reacting to an announcement that went something like “attention all passengers of flight 792, unfortunately, we have had to change gates for that flight.” This announcement was spoken by a Jamaican with a perfectly understandable “ya man” accent. The red neck looks right at Ann and I to offer his opinion (as if we had asked for it.) He says “I can’t believe it (I’m thinking he’s upset about the gate change), doesn’t anyone speak English here anymore.” This a-hole is exactly what gives us good Americans a bad name.

No amount of vacation could heal the damage done at the Atlanta airport.

All of todays pics were taken in or around Granada.

COLD WAR KIDS - WE USED TO VACATION

2007-08-20T22:22:00.001-05:00

Nicaragua Part 3

2007-08-20T21:32:00.001-05:00

"Two weeks paid vacation, won't heal the damage done, I need another one."

At some point these postings, especially as they pertain to Nica. are going to turn more introspective. These lyrics by Cold War Kids, a great band to check out by the way, are a hint of the future. But it's too late for anything very deep tonight.

In case you don't know the Cold War Kids, you can check out this song We Used to Vacation... either right above or below this post. I couldn't figure out how to imbed in the post. If anyone knows, please clue me in. I'm a newbie.

Do yourself a favor, check out the song you've wasted 5 minutes in worse ways, besides you are probably at work now anyway.

So maybe today just some basics about the trip.

Why did we choose Nicaragua? Well, we traveled to Costa Rica in 2002 for our honeymoon. We both really liked Costa Rica. Shortly after returning I read an article about traveling to Nicaragua. The article said things like, explore places that wouldn't be legal in the U.S. (i.e. live volcanoes, etc) and it's what Costa Rica was 15 years ago. Additionally, my wife is fluent in Spanish, so we're comfortable traveling to Latin and/or South America.

Don't worry there was a 2.5 foot wall keeping us from falling in. These pics don't do justice it was dusk. Just google volcan masaya.

Is it safe? Nica is either the safest or second safest (depending on the source) country in central america. Not so safe right now is El Salvadore (due mostly to gangs) and Guatamala. My wife is also not real keen on Mexico City.

It felt safe here.

This is laguna de apoyo. A lake formed in an ancient crater. It is over 200m deep of very clean water. No motorized boats allowed. Hot springs of 45C feed it. The water all around stays at about 85 F.

These guys weren't too scary either.

This was a little scary. We went soaring over a coffee plantation.

All the time I was in Kentucky I never met anyone named Jethro. We go to Nicaragua and hire a tour guide who's name was.... Jethro. He's the one in the Brewers t-shirt. A gift from me.

Do people travel there? We weren't sure. Once we got there we realized there were a fair number of tourists, more than we expected actually. However, our home base Granada, only has about 100,000 people with a fairly small downtown so travelers really stick out. At first this was dissapointing. As time went on we grew to enjoy this, it was easy to have conversations with other travelers. Most of the travelers we met were European or Canadian with a few Americans sprinkled in.

NIcaragua Part 2

2007-08-19T20:05:00.000-05:00

Sorry about my lengthly diatribe in the first post. I actually wrote 5 pages in a journal about that hike the day after we comleted it. I wanted to remember every painful second. If you want the whole thing give me a shout.

In this post I'll try and stick to the original plan. Pictures with brief explanations.

The view from our cabana at Villa Paraiso, on Isla de Ometepe.

There were cows being led on the beach one morning.

We took horses through a banana plantation to an awesome swimming hole the day after the hike. The water was warm, clean and clear. We ended up first meeting Sara and Melissa here, two women from Chicago that would become great friends.

I really didn't enjoy my first 2-3 days in Nicaragua. In fact I was wondering whether I would rather have been elsewhere. But somewhere between the swimming hole and this scene on the beach on our way back to the hotel, Nicaragua got under my skin and my love affair began.

This picture was taken from the ferry as looking back at Concepcion Volanoe as we were leaving Ometepe to return to Granada.

Nicaragua Part 1

2007-08-19T19:12:00.000-05:00

In order to best share pictures of Nicaragua that actually mean something I thought perhaps a blog would be better than just having you sign into flicker or snapfish or whatever you use. If you want more photos just let me know and I'll give you the site for that.

I plan on posting more on Nicaragua. The intent of this post is to simply scratch the surface of the trip and allow you to see pictures. Future posts, when I have more energy, will tell you what the pictures can't convey.

To bring everyone up to speed. Ann and I recently spent 8 days in Nicaragua. We just returned on August 15. Yes it is very safe, the people are extraordinary, we weren't the only tourists there and it is pretty inexpensive (except for the flight.)

We spent the bulk of our time in Granada (5 nights). Here's more information and a map. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada,_Nicaragua

We also spent three nights on La Isla de Ometepe. An island in the middle of lake nicaragua, the 20th largest lake in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nicaragua The island is bordered my Concepcion Volcano on one end and Maderas Volcano on the other. Concepcion is still active. The only way to arrive at Ometepe is via ferry which travels from the mainland several times a day. The length of trip varies depending on where you depart from. Our trip was about an hour.

This is the ferry we took and the view of the island from the mainland.

While on the island, we took a ridiculous hike up Maderas Volcano. We had to be careful about our hiking because I recenly hurt my knee. It remains unstable so I was very concerned. Our guidebook described the hike as tested and approved by overweight chain smokers. We figured we were safe. WE WERE WRONG.

Here's pictures of our ordeal (is it un pc to say Mein Kumpf because that's how it felt). 5 hour climb, 3.5 hours back down, we covered 1.4 Km up in roughly a total 5 km hike. That meant we went up 1 meter for roughly every two steps forward.

This was our "trail." We had to hire a guide as recommended by our book so we didn't get lost and die.

So instead of dying I just wanted to die.

2 km into the hike was a great view of the other volcanoe across the island.

The hike "finished" at this lake at the top of the volcanoe. The lake formed out of a crater created when the volcanoe exploded.

After we saw this we had to turn around and start back down the mountain. I seriously did not know how I was going to make it back down. My knee was in pain and my other leg started to cramp from overcompensating.

With 2 Km left it started to downpour. As hard of rain as I have seen in my life. The kind that fills the gutters in the streets. Except coming down the mountain there were no gutters. Instead our trail was the gutter. Our trail went from being muddy to being a river 6" deep that looked like melted milk chocolate flowing. We had to walk right through it or we would have been trapped on the mountain in the dark.

This is how we looked when we finished.